Today, Councilmember David Grosso, chairperson of the Committee on Education, sent a letter to Mayor Bowser outlining his budget priorities for the Mayor to consider for inclusion in her FY2019 budget proposal.
Ensuring that our students are in the best position to succeed remains Grosso's number one priority as the Chairperson of the Committee on Education. Fully supporting our students, teachers, and school communities means providing the necessary resources. For FY2019, Grosso asked the Mayor to:
1. Meet the non-academic needs of our students through increased investment in the Department of Behavioral Health’s School-Based Mental Health program.
2. Invest in the successful early literacy intervention program that gets students at or above reading level by third grade.
3. Give our teachers the tools to educate all our students by funding school-based special education teacher training.
4. Support the expansion of vital out-of-school time programs with increased funding for the Office of Out of School Time and Youth Outcomes.
5. Continue equitable investment in community based organizations who are providing care to at-risk pre-kindergarten children.
6. Aid child care providers by raising the subsidy reimbursement rates to more closely align with the cost of care.
Additionally, Grosso asked the Mayor to support funding for many of his policy priorities that have become law in the past few years:
1. Provide financial stability for workers caring for themselves or their family by investing fully in the implementation of the Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2016.
2. Assist residents managing their educational financing by funding a separate student loan ombudsman at the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking.
3. Support the newly established D.C. State Athletics Commission with funding for two new full-time position.
4. Provide equitable access to vital identity documents by funding fee exemptions for low-income residents.
5. Remove the influence of big dollar donors and promote equitable participation in our local elections by fully funding the Fair Elections Amendment Act of 2017
You can read the full letter to Mayor Bowser below.